Tears, anger and laughter were witnessed all at once at The Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow last week, as guests were left disappointed and feeling like they got “scammed”. The promised “celebration of chocolate in all its delightful forms” turned into a tragic affair, where the police ended up attending a warehouse in the outskirts of Glasgow and the event got called off midway.
The House of Illuminati advertised The Willy Wonka Experience of pure imagination with plenty of chocolate to go around, magical characters and huge mushrooms, candy canes, chocolate fountains and more. The images were initially AI-generated and looked promising, showcasing the magical world of Willy Wonka. However, the event did not match up to its promises, as visitors turned up to a half-empty warehouse with posters on the walls, a bouncy castle and a few not-so-huge decorations.
Customers ended up being charged £35 just to watch actors struggle with their lines handed to them the night before, small props and a small bouncy castle. Furious parents have demanded their money back, reporting having to console their crying children.
Paul Connell, an actor who was hired through an agency to perform the event, told STV News: “My heart sank looking around … I just felt sad because I was aware of how many kids were going to be coming through. We were told to hand the kids a couple of jelly beans and a quarter cup of lemonade at the end.”
Apparently, the actors were also told to just improvise on the spot, and did not get paid either.
As usual, people on social media responded in the most hilarious ways, photoshopping celebrities into the “grim” pictures and commenting on new videos emerging daily. One person commented: “Every day there’s something new from the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, I don’t want this to end.”
Comedian Zara Gladman shared her spin on the event on X: “Beginning to think that the Glasgow Willy Wonka thing was an elaborate art project about the impact of AI on the arts. Both the script and website were AI-generated.”
Another person said: “I’m obsessed with this Willy Wonka disaster event in Glasgow. More and more images keep coming online.”
Someone also suggested: “I would watch the hell out of a six-part Netflix drama about the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience.”
A House of Illuminati spokesperson said: “Today has been a very stressful and frustrating day for many and for that we are truly sorry. Unfortunately, at the last minute, we were let down in many areas of our event and tried our best to continue on and push through now realise we probably should have cancelled first thing this morning instead.”
“We fully apologise for what has happened and will be giving full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets. We planned a fabulous event and it just did not take shape as planned and for that we are truly sorry, we are devastated at how this has turned out and understand people’s anger and frustration that everyone has had, refunds have already started being issued and the rest should be over the coming days, again we are truly sorry to everyone.”
After the failed experience went viral all over the internet, being picked up by news publications all around the world, a group of people created a petition for the Willy Wonka Immersive Experience Glasgow to be brought back. The petition is called “Reopen the Beloved Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience“, and currently has around 5,000 signatures.